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LAKE CITY, FLORIDA

Suwannee River Adventure: Canoeing, Kayaking, Hiking and Folklore in Florida

Equipment RequirementsComfortable shoes needed. Hat or sunscreen and rain gear may be needed. Inspect repellent may be useful for later dates. Lightweight binoculars are nice to have along hiking and canoeing trips. Swimsuit for a short swim in the spring if desired. A light jacket (windbreaker) is suggested for the canoe trips.

Morning: Folklife of the Suwannee River: Potluck food demonstration and tasting, anything from Mayhaw jelly making and Tasting to Biscuit or pie making. Local resident folklorist tells stories of the early days in a humorous way. Subject matter will range from farming to working in the fields and orchards to ancestry roots.

Lunch: Picnic lunch at Big Shoals Public Lands

Afternoon: Guided nature walk along the Suwannee River with Park Staff Gary Erixton who can identify most of the plant and animal life in the area as well as tree and plant identification.

Dinner: Enjoy a local specialty, a chicken pileau dinner, cooked by members of the local community. This is a chicken and rice dish served with side dishes and a desert.

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Additional nights before: low to moderate ratesReservations may be made for additional nights by calling Days Inn.

Check in time: 3:00 PM

Day Three: Tuesday, February 26 -

Breakfast: Continental breakfast in hotel lobby.

Morning: Lecture and demonstration on turpentining, an important early industry in the region. Collector talks about the tools and methods developed through trial and error to extract gum from Florida's pine forests. Then a local resident who worked in turpentine camps as a young boy in the 1930s talks about his experience in the world of working men and the resulting career in forestry. Around 11 a.m. we'll travel to the canoe launch nearby to begin our trip on the Suwannee River.

Lunch: Picnic lunch on Suwannee River

Afternoon: We'll complete our trip on the Suwannee, exploring the dark tannic water, high limestone cliffs, and maybe spotting a gator or otter!

Dinner: Potluck/covered dish dinner in local church with regional foods.

Evening: Local speaker discusses growing up in White Springs, Florida during the 1940s-1960s.

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Additional nights before: low to moderate ratesReservations may be made for additional nights by calling Days Inn.

Check in time: 3:00 PM

Day Four: Wednesday, February 27 -

Breakfast: Continental breakfast in hotel lobby.

Morning: Concert by Florida's Environmental Troubadour, who uses humor and a guitar to talk about the importance of species biodiversity and conservation of natural resources, including a once-in-a-lifetime howl-a-long. Then we'll tour the Museum and Carillon Tower at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park.

Lunch: Lunch on your own anywhere within a 100-mile radius as you enjoy a free afternoon. Southern home-style cooking is available at three restaurants in White Springs, including the Suwannee River Diner with its handpainted mural of river scenery from the headwaters to the Gulf, and the Historic Telford Hotel, the only remaining hotel from White Springs' days as a resort spa.

Afternoon: Free afternoon. Take the self-guided walking tour of White Springs, see the revival antebellum architecture of the park, and enjoy a leisurely afternoon close by.
Travel south to Gainesville to visit world-class botanical gardens, natural history museum, art museum, the University of Florida (now known as Gator Nation) or enjoy the big-city shopping mall.
Travel east to Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park, site of Florida's largest Civil War battle and located within Osceola National Forest where you'll see colonies of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Travel southwest to the Gulf to beautiful Cedar Key or the fishing village of Steinhatchee where Roy's serves up the best seafood in Florida!
For a less ambitious tour, remain in Lake City where you can visit the local history museum and stroll through downtown shops and antique stores.

Dinner: Catered dinner at the park or covered dish dinner at a local church.

Evening: We offer two options for tonight. Music performed by Suwannee Valley Fiddling and/or guitarist. Or grab a table with your Road Scholar friends to share stories and get to know one another a little more.

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Additional nights before: low to moderate ratesReservations may be made for additional nights by calling Days Inn.

Check in time: 3:00 PM

Day Five: Thursday, February 28 -

Breakfast: Continental breakfast in hotel lobby.

Morning: We'll travel by van to Ichetucknee Springs State Park. We'll take a short hike to see the sapphire-blue, first-magnitude headspring called "Blue Hole" and talk about the pressures of development in the Ichetucknee Springs River Basin. There is usually time to tour the "short trail" of Ichetucknee Park before lunch. This trail is approximately 1/2 mile long and touches on several milestones related to the development of the area. Another option for the less active is to visit with your friends until lunch is served. If you dare to brave the cold, you can take a short swim in the spring.

Lunch: Picnic lunch on Ichetucknee River

Afternoon: After lunch, board our canoes and kayaks for a trip down this amazing, crystal clear river. There may be time to explore the rest of Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the Visitors Center before returning to the hotel but probably not.

Dinner: Grilled chicken dinner at local church.

Evening: A local resident will share some of White Springs' history and then we'll enjoy traditional Gospel Singing as often heard in the Bible Belt.

Morning: The morning begins with a demonstration on identifying, preparing and cooking swamp cabbage. Then we'll divide into small classes where you'll have time to try your hand at making a pine needle basket, palmetto weaving, blacksmithing, home canning, or a quilting demonstration.

Lunch: Lunch at the park will be a north Florida "cracker" style meal, with fried catfish, hushpuppies, swamp cabbage, grits and cole slaw.

Important information about your itinerary: Please know that while we do everything we can to finalize all aspects of our programs well in advance, there are logistics that occasionally must be altered. Our website will reflect the most recent information, and we are committed to providing you with final program details no later than eight weeks prior to the start of programs outside the U.S. and three weeks prior to the start of programs within the U.S. If you ever have questions about your program, please don't hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

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The latest in light, portable, easy-to-use QUIETVOX listening devices are available on Road Scholar programs.* Whether you are outdoors, in a crowd or in a museum environment where speaking loudly is discouraged, a listening device makes it feel like our experts are speaking clearly and directly to you. Hear for yourself on a Road Scholar adventure!

*Please note that due to the nature of some programs, the remote location or government regulations, listening devices may not be available. If you’d like to know for sure if your program will offer listening devices, just call and ask an Advisor!